I'm so sorry that your man Danneels didn't make the cut. I'd have prayed for his ascendancy to the papacy, but I'm sure that had they heard my prayers, they'd have sniffed out a heretic and it would have counted against Godfried. But look on the bright side: since I didn't out myself to the Grand Inquisitor, they were duped into naming the new guy for ME! Cool bueno ...

i suspect ratzinger chose the name benedict in order to fulfill malachy's prophecy.

Ah, how conveeenient!

seems to be how this prophecy deal often works

From: Geert D.
Date: Tue, 19 Apr 2005

Hello

I'll send a picture of the commemorative plaque on Mgr Danneel's house of birth as soon as I can. Probably during the weekend. Meanwhile I found a picture on the net with the name of the village, If you're handy with picture editing, it should be possible to change Kanegem into Vatikanegem

thanks. given the outcome of the voting, i guess i may as well leave it as it is....

From: Johan Daniëls
Date: Mon, 18 Apr 2005

Hi!
I'm Johan Daniëls (with umlaut! :-) )from Belgium. At the blog of one of our best newspapers, your site was mentionned some days ago.

I'm from the region of Antwerp, near to Mechelen. As every Belgian, I can strongly advise you to come and see the city of Mechelen (and the other Belgian cities of course). There are some really beautfull buildings there.

every belgian? excellent; i await my invitation from the pope-elect.

As already mentionned on your site, we do not really believe Danneels has a real chance to become pope. Belgium is not very catholic any more (we used to be ;-) ), and we have some very un-catholic laws (abortion, euthanasy, gay marriage). And some of us don't want him to leave...

I wish you much luck with your site and all other things!

gracias. for my own personal, non-catholic lent, i am bequeathing all wishes of good luck i receive to the papal chances of our man godfried.

Returning from a meeting over by the Borgo about an
hour ago, I am accosted by two well-dressed young men
in front of the Congregation of the Doctrine of the
Faith, just off St. Peter's Square. They are handing
out flyers with a photo of their candidate and the
legend "Santo Subito. Godfried. Your New Pope." The
reference is to Godfried Cardinal Daneels of Belgium,
and the two young Belgians, taking me to be an
American cardinal, tell me I should vote for Daneels
because he is "pro-women and pro-condom." These
Europeans are so sophisticated. Santo Subito--"make
him a saint and do it now"--is, of course, the popular
cry for the more or less immediate canonization of
John Paul II, a cry endorsed, I am told, by a majority
of the cardinals here. Doing that would require a
suspension of the rules, but not nearly so dramatic a
suspension as canonizing Daneels who is, to all
appearances, far from being dead.

One may be sure that Daneels is not behind the antics
of his enthusiastic supporters, and no informed source
thinks he has even a remote chance of being elected
next week. A noteworthy fact is that the party that
styles itself "progressive" has no serious candidate
in this process. They are out of gas. They viewed Paul
VI and, especially, John Paul II as aberrations to be
endured until the election of "the next pope" who
would agree with them and therefore be deserving of
their obedience. For years their dream candidate was
Carlo Maria Martini, a Jesuit who has retired as
Archbishop of Milan and has decisively taken himself
out of the running. In the absence of a plausible
candidate, a few diehards are reduced to handing out
campaign flyers for Godfried Daneels. The unusual
thing is that these progressive activists were young,
while most of the progressive party are tired and long
in tooth. They still talk about the revolution they
believe was mandated by "the spirit of Vatican II,"
but one senses that their heart is not in it.

Date: Sun, 17 Apr 2005
From: Chris
Subject: Non habemus papam

I'm a Belgian who is temporarily living in the U.S., and I think your website rocks!

gracias, mi amigo belga.

However, I don't believe Danneels will be elected -- he's
been talking to the press far too much, and as they say, "Whoever enters
as a Pope exits as a Cardinal." Personally I've already put my Euros on
Ratzinger,

i'm hoping his youthful career in nazi short pants will count against him.

with my Belgian friends betting on the Italian Tettamanzi. That
said, I had the pleasure of meeting Danneels on a number of occasions. The
first time was when I was 11 years old or so and our class went to see him
at his palace in Mechelen (Malines), the last time when I was an
undergraduate renting a room in a Belgian monastery he visited. Even
though I'm hardly a catholic and don't agree with everything he says, I
think he's an intelligent man with a good heart.

P.S. Although I'm sure Danneels speaks French fluently, his native
language is actually Dutch. It doesn't seem to be widely known, but about
half of all Belgians speak Dutch as their native and official language,
the other official languages of the country being French and German.

From: Beatrix
Date: Sat, 16 Apr 2005

Dear Sir/man Godfrey
You asked for more information about Cardinal Danneels. In a recent interview, when the interviewer mentioned that he (the cardinal) was on the list of "papabiles" , the cardinal commented:
I'm not a horse.

i read that the other day. someone online has said that while danneels has a reputation for a sense of humor, it wasn't evident in any quips he could find. i'll count that one.

But quite frankly,although I am belgian , I would prefer Carlos Santana 's proposal; the next pope, a woman. Long overdue.

since i find myself counting here all of a sudden, i'll mention that i like to count pope joan as the first female pope. after all, giving birth to a human child should go some way toward establishing feminine credentials.

From: Geert D.
Date: Fri, 15 Apr 2005

Hello

You may want to know that Godfried is born in Kanegem, Belgium. The place
is now nick-named 'Vati-Can-egem'
The village has a nice church, locally known as 'the Countryside
Cathetral'. Godfried was born in a house right next to that church and
there is a commemmorative plaque attached to the house. If you need some
photos from the place I'll be happy to provide you with some.

that would be splendid, thank you. a photo of the plaque would be especially welcomed here.

The omen is clear... now its's the cardinals' duty to elect God-fried from
Vati-Can-egem as the next pope.

i find it impossible to imagine the college of cardinals thinking otherwise.

First of all, let me tell you that the election of a pope has little to do with the personal choices of the cardinals. Most occupation of the electing cardinals during the conclave is: praying. The cardinals pray the Holy Spirit to guide them in their choice. So you can say that the election is basically the action of the Holy Spirit through the humans that the cardinals are. That's mainly the reason for the current information blackout.

Said this, I really do believe that Godfried Danneels would be an ideal pope. Because: he believes. That's the least you can expect from a cardinal, you say? Not so sure. In their functions cardinals get in touch with elements that can damage their faith seriously, you see, they get to know things... And he is smart, humble, silent, solid, polyglot, he can listen. But most important: he believes.

I know Godfried believes. I have been privileged to see proof of his faith. Indeed: several years ago (more than 10), on Easter-saturday, I saw Godfried Danneels on the periferical ring of Louvain, suddenly parking his car in front of me, stepping out of his car and crossing the ring, almost running. I immediately recognized him in his black suit, with his heavy cross and short white hair, stepping out of his Volkswagen Golf. I saw him entering a church on the other side of the ring. So I turned my car around on the next traffic light, thinking, well you know, that something, some event, must be going on in that church. So I entered the church quite straight and... my surprise when I realised the church was totally empty. Totally, except of course for one man: Godfried who was in deep contemplation on the first bench of the side-chapel inside the church, - I assume praying. Nobody else, no camera's, no media, no people. Just Godfried, concentrated and silent in reflections. I was petrified and I would rather die than to disturb him.I stepped silently backwards and left the church on my tip toes, very deeply struck indeed by what I saw. So I know since then: Godfried believes. And it is that scoop and privilege that I want to share with you today, so many years later. I even wrote a sonnet (French poem) about that fact. If you want to receive it, you can mail me. Please forward this to support faith throughout the world in this vital period for the Church. I wish you all a blessed day.

hard for me to comment on human action being overridden from some transcendent source. but i will say this: i like the name godfried danneels.

Date: Sun, 10 Apr 2005
From: De Markiezin

Hei Deuce

You're gaining influence, boy, you're not the only
internaut anymore rallyng for our good cardinal

I posted a small comment on this message with some tasty details from the papal circus. Danneesl keeps on
doing the wrong thing in the right way, so, given the Byzantine clarity of Vatican plitics, I think he still has a chance...

And here a nice photograph of cardinal Danneels during the Memorial Mass for his predecessor (? hm) at Brussels Sint Michiels and Sint Goedele Kathedraal:

From: Sue F.
Date: Fri, 08 Apr 2005

Okay Doc... Who's your pick for the next pope??

i've got to stick with my man godfried.
my second choice?
there IS no second choice!

for some reason i hear a very boisterous, take-over-the-world laugh after that last line...

I appreciate your support for Cardinal Danneels, but please get our name
right. It's Danneels. Two n. Two e. With an s. Danneels.

unfortunately, correcting the spelling of correspondents worldwide would be a bottomless pit (which the church would oppose -- as i gather from revelation 9 -- as opposed to revolution 9, which was the beatles; and as opposed also to a bottomless cup of coffee, which only the mormon church would oppose, i suppose).

besides, having all those spelling variants is good search engine fodder. (hello, fodder!)

Erwin Danneels (from Belgium, and yes, distantly related).

best of luck to your churchly kinsman, mon ami.

Date: Sun, 3 Apr 2005
From: crumbly donut

The pope is dead (do I need to capitalize 'pope')? I am somewhat saddened. He did some good in the world (I think) even though I didn't agree with alot of what he did. But that's neither there or here. Did this whole schiavorama that you started have something to do with his eminences timely demise? Godfried Danneels is now hogging some spotlight type thing. He seems to be some progressive type reformer, so I too am cheering for him.

it would be interesting if there were a pope in favor of condoms & married priests & female church leaders.

Perhaps not to the extent that I'd knock of JPII though. You bastard.

that was JPI who got knocked off (it is said), not JPII. and i was nowhere near either of their demises. i swear.

Been a long time. But I've been thinking of you since the Pope Deathbed Watch
was getting underway. I noticed that your fave is still a contender, so, it's
on! (Do they have to wait 3 days to see if J-P2 rises and sees his shadow
before picking a successor?)

more or less, but i think they favor a fish motif, over the groundhog.

Must be tense in Tempe (actually, I see you've moved to Bisbee, but I liked the
alliteration ;-)

Please share the attached letter to Alexy II with Cardinal Danneels and provide me with an e mail address for him for future e mails. Thanks!

To Patriarch Alexy II
of the Moscow Patriarchate, Russian Orthodox Church

I write on the occassion of the October 3-8 Bishops Conference of the Russian Orthodox Church to encourage efforts at cordial communication and reunification of the churches. To be more specific, I ask that you invite Roman Catholic Pope John Paul II to make an appearance at said conference and accept his good will gestures to meet with you in Moscow which you have repeatedly and obstinately refused to consider.

I am authoring a book about Albino Luciani, Pope John Paul I, whom I expect to be beatified as a saint and martyr for the faith, by Cardinal Walter Kasper after he is consecrated Pope of the Roman Catholic Church. I am also convinced that Metropolitan Nikodim Rotov of the Russian Orthodox Church is a saint and martyr. In my opinion, as a juris doctor, author, and someone who is conducting much research for said book on Luciani, it is possible that John Paul I and Metropolitan Nikodim were murdered to prevent reunification of the churches. BOTH deaths were unexpected, sudden, and inexplicable. Metropolitan Nikodim died in John Paul I's arms at the Vatican on September 5, 1978. Albino Luciani died a few weeks later on September 28 or 29, 1978. Let us show the world that their untimely deaths were not in vain. In the spirit of cooperation they would urge--

It is God's will that the two churches work together in the memory
of blessed Metropolitan Nikodim and Pope John Paul I, to unify the Orthodox and Roman Catholic churches, finding the means to set aside doctrinal and theological conflicts in the interests of peace, justice, and the commandment of Jesus to "love one another".

Patriarch Alexy, you stated such in your August 30, 2004 letter to His Holiness John Paul II, the Pope of Rome, when you said: "The preaching of Christian values to the secularized society will be successful only if all Christians fulfil the Saviour's commandment of love: 'Love one another as I have loved you' (Jn. 13:34)." You also stated that "Good relations between the Russian Orthodox and the Roman Catholic Churches, which 'the everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace' (Is. 9:6) calls us to realize not in words but in deeds, are extremely important for the future of Europe and the whole world." You signed your letter "With love in the Lord". Presuming that you meant all of those words, you should now be willing to invite John Paul II to attend your Synod of Bishops at this time.

If Albino Luciani and Nikodim Rotov were with us today, I believe they would urge the faithful to focus on the belief in one God, end the violence and strife, and stop playing into the hands of Satan and his tactics to divide the people of God. "What is this nonsense!" they would cry. "The churches have lost sight of the enemy: Satan and his unholy demons who stalk the world seeking the ruination of souls. Satan is delighted by the confusion the fighting among the churches creates. Unity relies on one thing, and one concept only---that of belief in one God the Father Almighty, maker of Heaven and Earth. We are appalled that representatives of any of the churches would promote such strife and chaos and play into the deception of the Demon. God commands that the violence and the war cease and that peace and justice and tranquility and charity reign upon the Earth."

There is no reason why the churches cannot retain their individuality as diverse peoples and churches yet, together, constitute the communion and the community of the people of God. NO church has the right to exercise temporal authority over ANY land, nation, or territory upon the earth to the exclusion of their fellow believers of other religions and faiths. In that regard, YOU are wrong to deny Future Pope Kasper and Pope John Paul II and the Roman Catholic Church the ability to establish churches in the Russian Republic and to, illogically, especially after your statements made in the letter to the pope, use THAT issue as a stumbling block to continuation of effective relations between the churches. (Although, thank goodness, Cardinal Kasper was successful in the effort to have the two churches establish a joint task force to look at these issues, including the church establishment matter.) Maybe I look at this issue from the perspective of an American who lives in a nation where religions are free to build churches and their faithful can worship as they choose. But, Patriarch Alexy, my family was driven out of Germany in the 1830's by precisely this same issue: they were being denied, by the state and a state promoted church, the right to follow the faith of their choice, and I feel that was wrong.

There is room in our world for all of God's people, whether Orthodox, Roman Catholic, Lutheran, Anglican, Jewish, Islamic, Buddhist, Hindu, or other sect. The senseless slaughter of tens of thousands of Orthodox and Roman Catholic (Uniate) peoples, and Jews and others, in the name of religion and God is the most ungodly manner of demonstrating alleged faith in God imaginable, and is most assuredly not countenanced by the God of any of aforesaid faiths! We must, in our modern world, beg pardon of all of those who promoted and caused the slaughter of millions of persons in the supposed name of religion in the history of humankind, and voice spoken recognition that such violence, war, strife, and murder originates not from God or His followers, but from Satan, the Demiurge, and his demonic followers.

I would agree with the Orthodox Church that the concept of Papal Infallibility is theologically invalid. At no point did Jesus make any of his apostles or followers the supreme monarchial head of a worldwide church. His twin brother Thomas became leader of the Church in India. His brother James the Just led the church in Jerusalem. His chosen apostle, the first apostle, Mary Magdalene, and others of the faithful took the faith into the Provence and Languedoc regions of what is now France. Peter established a church in Rome, becoming its first bishop. The examples could go on. Bishop Kallistos (Timothy Ware), who is at the Pembroke College in England, noted that the Orthodox do not accept the First Vatican Council definitions regarding the "infallibility and supreme universal jurisdiction of the Pope" (which, he states, the Second Vatican Council reaffirmed adding a collegiality of the Bishops) was correct to advance the following concept in his book, The Orthodox Church (1993 update).

"We do not believe that, in his teaching ministry, the Pope possesses a special charisma or gift of grace that is not granted to his fellow bishops. We recognize him as first---but only as first among equals. He is the elder brother, not the supreme ruler.

"Surely we Orthodox should be willing to assign to the Pope, in a reunited Christendom, not just an honorary seniority, but an all-embracing apostolic care. We should be willing to assign to him the right, not only to accept appeals from the whole Christian world, but even to take the initiative in seeking ways of healing when crisis and conflict arise anywhere among Christians. We envisage that on such occasions the Pope would act, not in isolation, but always in close cooperation with his brother bishops. We would wish to see his ministry spelt out in pastoral rather that juridical terms. He would encourage rather than compel, consult rather than coerce.

"In 1024 Patriarch Eustathius of Constantinople suggested to Pope John XIX the following forumula, differentiating between the primacy of Rome and that of the Ecumenical Patriarchate: 'Let the Church of Constantinople be called and accounted universal in her own sphere, as Rome is throughout the world.' Might not the Orthodox/Roman Catholic Joint Commission take this as the basis for discussion at some future meeting?" (Ware, p. 316)

I write a book about Pope John Paul I, of blessed memory, and he refused to be crowned in a monarchial fashion and he said to his friend and advisor Don Pattaro that he desired:

"'. . . That a small permanent Sinodo of bishops me conforte with
suggestions and adviceso that when the Pope is with the towns
and the local Churches it can take the religious, eclesial and
pastoral thought expressed and matured by the colegialidad of the
bishops.
"In my trips I do not try to disturb or to decrease in way some
the autonomy and the authority of the local episcopados ones. I
am the older brother of the biships, must a great respect to them,
must and want to be in communion of love with them. . .
"The colegialidad between the Pope and the bishops has been
confirmed by Concilio. The colegialidad is developed in the
national episcopal donferences and through the Sinodo of the
bishops.'"

Cardinal Walter Kasper has also stated that the main point of conflict between the Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches is the issue of the primacy of the Pope. (Patriarch Alexy, you allowed Future Pope Kasper to return the Kazan Icon of our Most Holy Lady, the Theotokos and Ever Virgin Mary, which hung in Pope John Paul II's study for some time, to you in Moscow on August 28, 2004, a little over a month ago. In said same spirit of cordiality, I would wish that the desire of Saint Mary, Our Lady of Fatima, that all of the Russian Republic and the World be consecrated to her in the cause of World Peace, by a joint synod of the bishops of the Russian Orthodox Church and the Roman Catholic Church called by yourself and Pope John Paul II or his successor to be Cardinal Walter Kasper should be carried out in the interest of all humanity.) Cardinal Kasper's view, when he addressed the Aleppo Orthodox community, was summarized, in part, at www.alepporthodox.org, which states:

"Cardinal Kasper talked about a 'relecture' of Vatican Council I---
the main handicap in such an approach" (i.e. issue of primacy vs.
conciliarity, papacy as a position vs. as an honorific position)---
within an historical reading of the 1st and 2nd millennium, a
'relecture' that can be profitable."

I would comment, expressing solely my own views, that while I understand that the Second Vatican Council reaffirmed the concept of papal infallibility, within limits, said reaffirmation is null and void, as the original passage, by the First Vatican Council in the 1800's was null and void for the reasons which follow, and a void enactment cannot be considered as law within the church. It would be my understanding that the papal infallibility doctrine was passed by the First Vatican Council AFTER the majority of the participating bishops (namely, those who opposed said same concept) had already left the council and were not present to partake in said vote. No quorom existed. No valid number of bishops remained in session. The matter was taken up after most bishops had left the council. In addition, there appear to be allegations that Pio Nono pressured the remaining bishops into adopting the concept which made him "infallible". Such pressure upon a legislative body makes said enactment an object of coercion and also, invalidates the act. I do not even address the many arguments, from religious tradition and history that also go against such a concept. At best, a Pope is one of God's representatives upon the Earth, but a Pope is NOT GOD. Only Jesus (and, if one believes in pre-incarnate appearances of Jesus such as Enoch/Metatron or Melchizedek) is God. Therefore, how can a Pope be infallible? I believe that even popes are uncomfortable with this concept (witness, for example, John Paul I's words, above).

It is equally absurd that the Orthodox and Roman Catholic churches are currently fighting over establishment of churches in each others' territories (although, of course, John Paul II did GIVE a church to the Orthodox upon Patriarch Bartholomew's visit this year) and that this issue threatens attempts at reconciliation and unification.

Was not Jesus the founder of both churches? Did the Lord Jesus Christ not say that whereever two people are gathered in His name, he is present? We have chosen to morph such gatherings into formal meeting places now called churches. However, Jesus would not have forbidden any sect of Christian believers from gathering in his name anywhere upon the earth. In oppposing such gatherings, you oppose his word.

God would also be ashamed of His people killing and harming each other supposedly in His name. God commanded: "Thou Shalt Not Kill!" Yet Christians and Jews, Pagans and Non-pagans, Orthodox and Catholics, Christians and Muslims, and various other sects, have spent the history of humanity slaughtering each other over religious differences, contrary to the Word of God. So-called "heretics" have been murdered in the name of God. Such murder is a work of Satan, not God.

Apologies have been made, and more are needed. The churches must begin anew to trust and respect each other and all people of God in order to establish a peaceful, just, and better world.

John Paul II, in a visit to the Ukraine, asked the Orthodox Church to forgive wrongs committed against them by Catholics. He beatified 27 Soviet-era martyrs in a ceremony in the City of Lviv and paid tribute to those who had been killed or suffered for their faith, stating that "the land of Ukraine is drenched with blood of martyrs".

Cardinal Walter Kasper, in Aleppo, reminded us that "'If we are
longing for the full communion, still all our efforts cannot 'make' unity, since it is the work of the Holy Spirit, the spirit of unity, of peace and prayer . . .'" He added that it is "also the spirit of forgiveness and mutual love, remembering the infamy caused by the Crusaders to Constantinople in 1204, eight hundred years ago." (www.alepporthodox.org)

On a similar theme, John Paul I, Albino Luciani, stated that the Jews did not kill God, "The Hebrews are not deicidas". He said:

"If Christ Sir gives life me, if I have the force, the right light and
the right consents, I think to summon a representation of bishops
worldwide for an act of penance, humility, repair, peace and
love of the universal Church, to repeat every year by the Pope and
bishops in the local churches, the Good Friday. We Christian them
have sinned against Hebrew the our brothers in God and Abraham;
we have ignored them and slandered during centuries. The

Hebrews are not deicidas. In the historical plane only some were
it and have a name. The accusation is theologically infundada and
morally unjust . . . We have to request to God that pardons east
sin to us. . . . To confess the historical faults of the Church is

humility sign and really, sign of hope in a future is better. . . . The
Church recognizing itself pecadora in its men and their institutions
deplores with humility the difficult and painful moments of its way
in history, like tristisima Inquisicion and the tristisimos times of the
Temporary Power of the Popes."

I would suggest that there are ways to establish unity among the Orthodox and Roman Catholic churches without destroying or compromising either church. Among these are:

1. Pope Paul VI and Patriarch Athenagoras lifted the anathemas of
the excommunications of the Great Schism of 1054 with authorization of synods of bishops of both churches.

2. Have the Pope call the Third Vatican Council to, among many other projects, declare the concept of papal infallibility null and void.

3. Admit that there are no heretics to kill in the name of religion (unless you want to count Satan and his demons who, unlike the members and leaders of the churches, truly broke away from God).

4. Open your hearts to concepts of freedom of religion and trust that in doing so, God's people will live better, more peaceful, more just lives.

5. Recognize that commonality of faith far outweighs theological
or conceptual differences. (For example, Cardinal Kasper stated, in the words of the reporter covering said meeting, at a meeting which included the Orthodox Pope Shenouda III, that "Catholic and Oriental Orthodox faithful are united in the same faith in the Triune God and in the Savior Jesus Christ, the Incarnate Word of God, that they venerate in common the Blessed Virgin Mary and that they share as common fathers and teachers of the Church, Saint Athanasius and Saint Cyril of Alexandria." (www.armenianprelacy.org) Kasper also told Radio Free Europe that there are many ways in which the Vatican and the Moscow Patriarchate can benefit from cooperation. He said: "We want to overcome the prejudices and misunderstandings between the different churches, and there is much to do for reconciliation and cooperation."

6. The war and violence and hatred and strife and poverty and injustice and greed which abounds in the world must, in the name of God, cease. This is the common ground among all religions which should guide reconciliation efforts across the world.

It is absolute nonsense for YOU to refuse to allow Pope John Paul II to visit you in Peredelkino and it is nonsense for the churches to fight over allowing people to worship as they please across the earth. God would not want such conflict. You should be glad that people want to worship God, not oppose their desire to worship.

Patriarch Alexy, you need to invite Pope John Paul II to join you at the Synod of Bishops.

I would remind you that Angelo Roncalli, who later became Pope John XXIII, when he was a papal representative in Bulgeria, in 1925, attended the Holy Synod of the Orthodox Church. Rome, erroneously and unfortunately, viewed this as a scandal and demanded to know what he was doing. What he was, in fact, doing, was expressing love for his fellow brothers in the Lord, which is what the representatives of the present Roman Catholic Church and Orthodox Church need to do in his wonderful memory and to carry out the will of God. Roncalli wrote to his friend (later cardinal) Gustavo Testa, and I conclude with, his words:

". . . what have I done wrong? They are bishops as we are. They
are priests as we are. Their sacraments are as valid as our
sacraments. They believe in one God as we do. They honor the
Mother of God as We do. And if from the law of Gospel I must
love my enemy, can I not also love these my brothers?"
With Best Regards,
Sara Johann, J.D.

Being a journalist for Belgian television and being an inhabitant of
Mechelen I've met the cardinal several times. Last saturday I attended the
All Saints-mass in the Saint-Rombouts cathedral in Mechelen. Naturally, he
was there too and as allways - after the mass - he came to the people in the
church. He even talked with my two little children, who were a bit
impressed by the cardinal's liturgical outfit.

What Vatican-specialist Peter Hebblethwaite says about Danneels, lacking
human warmth, is completely wrong. Danneels is a very warm personality,
especially in contact with common people.

how do you think he would be with a common statue? say, of a dead composer?

The inhabitants of Mechelen can see him quite often, just walking over the
streets between his palace and the cathedral. Or driving in his car (a
little grey Volkswagen Golf-Rabbit).

Whenever you come to Belgium, you should visit Mechelen. It 's a very nice
town with a lot of medieval, renaissance and baroque monuments. And... we
have some of the best Belgians Beers, which you can taste in pubs, looking
out over the cathedral and the cardinal's palace. Perhaps you could see
Danneels, passing by...

Greetings,

Koen DE VOS
editor-journalist VRT Belgian television

it would be sweet to get a photo of him with herr wagner. for posterity. you know.

I read with interest your website dedicated to Godfried Cardinal Daneels. His would be a very interesting papacy. (Any guesses on the name he would take?) However, I am also writing to ask for your assistance. I'm trying to determine which of the now 135 Cardinals Elector are considered to be progressives. As the current belief is that the next pope will be considerably older than John Paul II was when he was elected, I'd also be interested in the identities of the remaining, non-voting Cardinals as to which are progressives.

Thank you in advance for any assistance.

glad you like the site. actually, though, i'm not even catholic & have no information about the college of cardinals. consequently, the only cardinal who interests me is our man godfried.

Likewise, I'm not Catholic, either (though I was raised Catholic). I'm just caught up in the same 'who's it going to be' frenzy many others are. I've come up with a list of five Cardinals as 'most likely to be the next pontiff.' Regrettably, Cardinal Godfried is not on the list. We'll have to wait and see how those on my list fared.

So, the way I read this, it is three times more likely that anyone else on earth will become the next pope (+450) than that Godfried Danneels will become the next pope (+150).

but, how'd you like to be oscar andres rodriguez maradiaga. he's on +666! what are the odds of that?

well ... +666.

Date: Mon, 06 May 2002
Subject: godfried danneels
From: beople

There are two reasons why I'm sending you this email:

1. As a Belgian I'd like to congratulate you on you're website about our cardinal Danneels. You probably know more about our Godfried than most Belgian people do.

2. As one of the editors of BEople magazine, a magazine about a certain Belgium, I would like to support your 'campaign' by writing a small news item about your website in our next issue. BEople is distributed in several countries in Europe and also in New York and Tokyo.

To be able to write my article I have to ask you some more questions:

What about the book that is mentionned in the interview with you on the website. Is this true or just a joke?

are you talking about the book mentioned on this page? if so, i don't know whether it's true or not. but i think it is true.

Do you know anything else about Belgium or don't you even know where it lies on the map? Just tell me all you know about my tiny little country.

no one told me there would be a quiz today. whatever i know about belgium i probably learned from world war two. not that i was there, i've only read about it. but the books do mention belgium regularly, though not as much as, say, france. maybe the cardinal, if elected pope, can do something about that.

From: Lynda
Date: Mon, 05 Nov 2001

hey, by the way. my friend olga [who's from holland] sez if you ever need any help corresponding w/the cardinal, she'll be happy to help.

I just want to say that your website is mentioned on the starting page of the Belgian website provider "Planet Internet", so you're gonna be well known in Flanders.

Even the famous British newspaper "The Guardian" mentioned "our" Godfried Danneels" after the meeting of cardinals as one of the "hottest" candidates for being the next pope. I live near Mechelen, about 3 miles from where the kardinaal lives. I've walked in his interesting garden a few months ago. In the town of Mechelen there is a beautiful gothic church with a tower of 97 meters high (the "Sint-Romboutstoren", Saint-Romboutstower). I have some pictures of Mechelen, shot from 90 meters high, also someone of the "aartsbisschoppelijk paleis" (archi-episcopal palace). If you're interested, I'll search for them in my photo-albums and mail them to you.

I'm writing a book on our Godfried Danneels, the cardinal. Its gonna be
a sort of unauthorised biography. Although, he knows about the project.
In one of the chapters I explain the meaning of his name and anwer the
question why his parents have given that name.

will there be an english-language edition of your book? i would really like to know why his parents gave him the name. (as to its meaning, i suppose it's the same as it is in english, no?)

In that chapter I also like write about YOU! Your website about Danneels is relatively know in
Belgium. Its a little funny

i'm curious: would the average person in belgium have heard of it, or just catholics, or just catholics who follow the career of the cardinal?

So I ask you, friendly, to answer the following questions:

i'll be as friendly as i can. i'm a friendly guy (for a hermit, anyway).

Why did you start with website and the Danneels-pages? What was the occasion?

i was in college and on the first day of a new semester, one of my professors read my name on the class roll and remarked that it was the same name as a belgian cardinal. i thought he was pulling my leg, so after class i went straight to the library to check it out. i was amazed and delighted to discover that the professor was right. when the name of godfried danneels began to be mentioned as a pope hopeful, i decided i'd like to do something to spread the word of danneels.

What do you really think about the cardinal?

i think we'd get along just fine. he seems to be a common-sense sort of guy. he also seems to have a sense of humor, too. after all, he hasn't sued me over the website. yet.

Is he really a good candidate to be the next pope?

sure. heck, if i were a cardinal, i'd vote for him. but i'm not even catholic. still, i think he'd be a good pope because, as i understand it, he's not in favor of centralized power. i'm all for anything that makes power more diffuse, instead of concentrating it. i also admire the cardinal's habit of speaking his mind. for example, he had to know that it wouldn't be popular for him to suggest that the pope might resign -- but that's what he thought, so that's what he said. you have to like that about anyone in a huge organization of any kind, let alone the catholic church.

Is he known in the States? And what is his profile there?

he might be somewhat known among american catholics but, not being catholic, i really don't know. american non-catholics are probably only peripherally aware of the current pope, let alone prospective popes.

Did you have al lot of response on your website?

on deuceofclubs.com as a whole, yes. the danneels section, however, elicits response mostly from belgians.

Thanks al lot the Book will be published in october this year

please keep me posted, i'd love to read it. by the way, how do you rate his chances of becoming pope? do you think the heart attack or his candid comments have hurt his candidacy? hey, that might be a good slogan for him: danneels -- a candid candidacy!
(or do people refer to it as a candidacy, since one apparently isn't supposed to be seen to be actively pursuing the papacy?)

From: Geert D.
Date: Mon, 16 Apr 2001

Dear Sir,

As you may have found out already, your site was mentioned in the 'netfun'
section of a e-zine produced by the Flemish leading business newspaper De
FinanciŽel Economische Tijd (Financial-Economic Times). Congratulations.

I'd like to provide you with some information, I hope it's useful to build
your site and state your case (and that of M. Danneels as well)

M. Danneels was born in Kanegem, this is a village 5 km north of Tielt, a
small town in West-Flanders. A commemmorative plaque is attached to the
house where he was born. There is no doubt Godfried will be the next pope.
Right across his house there is a beautiful little church locally known as

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On your 'pink' page you mention that Godfried is archbishop of Brussels,
that is not correct, your white page mentions the correct name of the
archdiocese (in English).

The archdiocese itself is bilingual Dutch and French, there is no such thing
as a Belgian language (see your letter on the pink page). The town however
is Flemish, i.e. they speak Dutch. It takes a good man to master the
complexity of language matters in this archdiocese, his predecessors are
reputed to be less proficient in this issue.

About Godfried's High School years: that was probably shortly after WW II
and not 'during' as I explained in my previous mail. The allied forces were,
with Gods help or not, able to finish the war just in time for Godfried to
safely go to school in the neighbouring town. Another omen???
By the way, it appears that my father has mislaid the 'palmares' featuring
Godfried's excellent school results. However, I trust that this crucial
piece of evidence to state your mutual case will return soon.
You can contact the school, their url is http://debron.kso-tielt.be, (there
is some information in English) their email is mailto:debron@kso-tielt.be.
Godfried was a student of 'Vestiging Kortrijkstraat', the former
Sint-Jozefscollege.

And, lastly, the Umlaut: Godfried is not infallible, yet. Pls bear in mind
that he is Flemish, and in his native language (which is Dutch), your last
name would probably carry the umlaut (we call it trema) on the e. There are
cases of missing umlauts in similar Flemish names though (e.g. GabriŽls).
They are probably due to fathers, and civil servants, that weren't able to
put down the correct name when the child was registered, in the past this
was usually done after sufficient drinks in the local pubs. Further
investigations could prove that one of Godfried's ancesters indeed was a Mr.
DaniŽls and that registrar(s) have misquoted the name of the declaring
father.

I have to warn you, I'm not a professional translator. If you ever should consider publishing, please feel free to change this into REAL English :

Here goes nothing. This is the one from T-zine, the one I told you about :

14. The next pope, we hope

Due to his quarrel with the gay priest Rudy Borremans one should almost
forget that kardinaal Danneels is in the running to follow up Pope Johannes
Paulus II. Fortunately there are some Americans campaigning for our
cardinal. On the Godfried Danneels-page he is recommended on a funny way to
be the new pope. Or, as written on the site : The next time the white smoke
wafts its curly way from the Vatican chimney to heaven, let's all hope the
holy skywriting spells DANNEELS! Amen.
Language : English

This is the translation (well, sort off...) of the other article (the one on
PLANET INTERNET) :

'The Next Pope, We Hope'
20/10/1999

Godfried Danneels has one advantage compared to his opponents in the run for
the papacy : he is the only one being supported by a fearless crucifier
campaigning for him. This man is Godfrey Daniels, lives in Arizona, and
hits mostly on the internet.

[NL]Danneels has a supporter in Arizona.[NL](foto belga)
The battle for the papacy has began, and Godfrey Daniels knows who to
support : the Belgian with nearly the same name. In an article, called 'My
man Godfried!' the American wonders how it can ever turn out right with our
world if it lets slip away the chance for a pope Godfried Danneels.

The American would consider it cool if Danneels should lead the Catholic
Church using his own name, he tells in a letter to the Belgian Cardinal. The
name 'Godfried Danneels' might not occur in the bible, but neither does
'Innocentius' and 'Urbanus' . "God protect John-Paul II" Daniels ads to his
letter to be cautious.

Pope-watchers like Peter Hebblethwaite give Danneels no chance at all. Bad
sports, according to Daniels . Even if he admits that Milans archbishop,
Carlo Maria Martini, is a better candidate. Martini might not have a
campaign strategist like Danneels, he still is an Italian. With his healthy
blossoms, he reminds us at Ted Kennedy ("fergodsake!"). And to Daniels'
upset, he even turns out to be a jezuit !

Daniels thinks it's fundamentally dishonest that only the college of
cardinals can decide about a function wit such a worldwide impact. A general
vote is the least he expects.. If else, at least one vote, his. After all,
Godfrey Daniels lives in Temple, Arizona, with the Cardinals as local
football team.

The fact that Daniels isn't even remotely catholic, doesn't change the fact
that he stands right behind pope Godfried. It's just waiting for the white
smoke. (AO)

Date: Sat, 14 Apr 2001
From: Dirk C.
Subject: Pope Godfried Danneels

Danneels for pope! That's what the whole of Belgium is waiting for.
Thanks to your support this small country is finally on its way to papacy.

You probably already know, but if not a new little article of your KARDINAAL DANEELS CAMPAIGN was published today in T-zine, a newsletter of the website of Belgiums leading financial newspaper de Financieel Economische Tijd (Tijd = times)

If you want me to translate some of the Dutch stuff, feel free to ask me, my English is not that good, but I guess it s better than your Dutch.

Bye!
Karel Matthijs

From: Luc N.
Date: Sat, 14 Apr 2001

Thank you very much for campaining for our cardinal Danneels. Although I am not a catholic - more of a non-believer, actually - I do hope he gets to be the next pope.

Greetings,
Luc N.
Belgium

From: JD
Date: Sun, 24 Dec 2000
Subject: A query about the cardinal

Dear Sir:

I came across your unique Website while trolling for information about one of the most promiment "papabile." I should be able to meet the archbishop sometime in January in Malines, and was curious about any in-depth profiles of his life or thought that may exist. Can you advise me where to direct my research, on the Net or otherwise? You obviously have a keen interest in the
topic!

i'm afraid i really know little about the kardinaal. except that i can't read his handwriting...

From: Pokkie De Soepkip
Date: Wed, 20 Oct 1999

Hi Deuce,

I just surfed along your Danneels site and noticed that you can't read a
word of what's written on the photo the cardinal sent you. Well, it's not
very difficult. It says: "+ Godfried Car Danneels" The "car" stands for
cardinal of course.

The fact that Daniels became DaniŽls has nothing to do with a (German)
umlaut, but everything with a (Dutch)"deelteken" (in English: diaeresis?).
DaniŽls is a comon name in Flanders (it's derived from "DaniŽls zoon" or
"Daniel's son").

Just one more thing: don't get involved in Belgian language-troubles!
Mechelen is the correct correct Dutch word for the Cardinal's hometown,
Malines is the French word. Since Mechelen is located in Flanders, use
Mechelen. Don't do this ever again, naughty boy!

Greetings,
Pokkie

Date: Wed, 29 Sep 1999
From: Jo B.
Subject: translation

Deuce,
the text on the card says :
"greetings from the secretariat of Cardinal Deuce"

under the logo apparently is a biblical quotation:
"the charity (humanity) of our god has appeared"
see logo "apparuit humanitas dei nostri"

strange that secretariats -- and not secretaries -- can send their best wishes to someone.

maybe he was channeling a certain triple-crown winner ... ?

btw. I got to your site because I was searching stuff on Rainer. He seems to have done this cd DYO : I assume it was kind of a private release. You wouldn't know where and if I could get hold of a copy of that. I have most of his other stuff.

ps. Godfried was just in the newspaper today : historic words "no western civilization without christianity".

Hmmm...
I was watching this little do-it-yourself ditty (http://www.furnitureguys.com/ ), not because I'm so inclined, but because the weather has been the pits here in Ottawa (home of the Ottawa Citizen !). So...they're working on this picnic table in some generic suburban backyard, and they do a quick pan to these two kids who live there...get this...the
names of these little rascals are "Godfried" and "Danneel", and they were
mentioned in that order ! Fluke ? I don't think so. Whats up ? These guys
are the masters of oblique references...I think they were paying tribute to Godfried Danneels.

as well they should

ps. I think Wagner should visit Canada...

it shall come to pass

From: Hrathgar
Date: Sat, 26 Sep 1998

Mijn beste Kardinaal --

Being a fan of both your site and of, um, Belgium, I was most tickled (to a
nearly holy pinkness) to view your pages about His Most Righteous Cardinal,
Godfried Danieels van Mechelen-Brussel...Mechelen holds a warm spot in my
heart, considering it's the town in which I was first kissed by a guy.
Cogratulations on your new ...well, it's not an umlaut, not in Dutch. It's
called something else but I don't remember what. I'll do some digging and get
back to you. Posthaste!

As a person who was born with the last name of Godfried, and is proud to say that I am privileged to have this name, I am confused by this use of my last name.

where there is godfried, *there* is significance. but maybe we should focus on the significance of the name *godfried* itself:

The name is an old German name, meaning "GOD fearing".

not so. "Godfried" means "peace of God," as in the epistle to the phillipians, chapter 4, verse 6: " . . . and the peace of God, which passeth all understanding."

in this context, then, it may be said that godfried passeth all understanding.

Other than this, I don't understand why everyone is using my name in this way.

what you mean by "in this way" i do not understand.
hmm . . . maybe *every" godfried passeth understanding!

hochste lust! (more german)
Deuce of Clubs

From: Trish
Subject: Hiya!

Hey, Deuce!

I went over to your PopeWatch site to see if there had been any
jockeying for position (you must be getting pretty excited as the
current occupant is growing so weak that they had to bring the Cuban
soil up to him for kissing--who started that bizarre custom, anyway?).

genesis 3.14: "...dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life."

I was looking at the photo of Carlo "Maria" Martini (if, indeed that IS
his real name!) and he's just so *cute* and look at how he holds his
cross out like Dorothy Hamill when she won her Olympic gold!!

isn't it sickening? just what we need, a *coquettish* pope. i didn't read anything about coquettish in st. malachy.

Sad to say, I'm not sure that your man has a prayer (pardon the expression).

Chow for now,
Trish

sure he does--he has MY prayers.

From: Gail
Subject: Area 51

Deuce,

I found this in Jan 18 AZ Republic, in an article titled "Frail Pope
Concerns Vatican", sub-heading is "Time for an Italian?"

"Europeans aren't making much of a showing at the moment... the popular
Belgian Godfried Danneels has had a heart attack recently..."

et cetera, et cetera... I think with the right amount of Disney-esque
topsy-turvy "Double Trouble" who's on first bit, you could switch
identities with the Belgian and be a front runner for the Papacy. Of
course the movie version would have to star Jerry Lewis as the frail but
good tempered and bumbling Belgian.

From: Aus Meyer
Subject: pope hopeful

Neato torpedo. Maybe you'll be beautified someday, like those nuns I heard about on the news. I only hope that this does not occasion you to experience the sin of Pride.

Hey, Deuce,
How's this for a coincidence (or something)? Donna has a friend who's starting on a contract basis. Her name is (are you ready?) Danielle Godfreys!

later, Suzanne

i've heard of her. too bad she's married--we could each take each other's last names & become danielle daniels and godfrey godfreys
i still haven't managed to set up a lunch. i am a loser. i should have been a pair of ragged claws, ... but that's another story

From: "Stef Van Langendonck"
Subject: Daneels

I haven't got any hot tips on our dear Church leader, but I liked your page a lot (being Belgian...)

Do you get many angry emails from the Chosen?

Keep the faith!

Stef

From: JOHNBKOZAK
Subject: The next Pope

Re: your web page about the next pope .. .. ..

St. Malachy's moniker for the next pope is

GLORIA OLIVARIUS

i think i went out with her in high school. . . .actually, the latin is GLORIA OLIVAE, which means "glory of the olive"

Does this mean the Glory of Peace or the Glory of the Olive (black olive)?

Nostradamus indicates that the next pope will come from "old" France.
Is Arinze from Algeria or a former French colony? I assume he is black.

The next pope is, of course, the next to the last. The final pope will be Peter of Rome.

not necessarily. as peter bander has written, "Some medieval interpreters have gone out of their way to stress that Malachy in his prophecies does not specifically mention that no Popes shall reign between Gloria Olivae and the last Petrus Romanus...."

With Lustiger being Jewish, he could be the false prophet.

don't you find it a little difficult to believe that jews would accept a catholic as their messiah?

When Israel blows up the Dome of the Rock, all Arabs will unite. There is a temporary
false peace, but then both France and Italy will be invaded by the Muslims.
(See the current commotion in Israel now with the 25 year old Tatiayana
Sushkin painting the T-shirt depicting Mohammed as a PIG and trampling
on the Koran. She and her boyfriend yesterday went to the Dome, got
by security, and then removed their outer shirts to display profanity.)
What possibly would infuriate the Muslims so much to make them
wage war on Italy and France? ? ? Obliterating Israel is totally
understandable, but why Italy and France ? ? ? Unless the pope
somehow was involved in a false peace.

Sorry, I don't think your cardinal Danneels is gonna be the one.

oh i don't know about that. what about st. columbkille? didn't he write of "the pure Danair"? if Nostradamus's "Hister" can be Hitler, why can't columbkille's "Danair" be Danneels? it's prophecy, after all, and i believe a certain leeway is customary.